Destiny: Gate King's Decent
by IZ-Fiction
Summary: ( Destiny Rise of Iron / Taken King story ) When the brother of Atheon, Ares the Gate King, plots revenge against the city, only a Raid team can stop him! Finished
1. Chapter 1

In a dark, deep, underground cavern, far beneath the surface of Venus, a huge machine turned on, motors whirring, lights blinking and powerful Arc surges sprouting off of the huge generator. Large cords, the size of buses, lit up, sending energy from the machine to a large, circular disk. The outer rim of the disk started to emit light, the shining light growing brighter and brighter. A large figure approached the Gate, it's one red eye casting a glow over the numerous Vex soldiers awaiting orders from it. Arlox the Gate King loomed over his subjects, readying for war.

Red alarm lights flashed and sirens rang throughout the Tower, Guardians bustling about.

In the Hall of Vanguards, Cayde, Zavala and Ikora stared at a holographic display in the middle of the table, a map of Venus showing a red mark in the middle of the Ishtar Sink.

Lord Shaxx ran in.

"What on Earth is that?" He asked, staring at the red spot.

"That" Ikora said gravely. "Is our doom."

A red spot lied right in between the eyes of an unsuspecting Dreg. Crack.

The Dreg collapsed to the ground, a new hole right in the middle of the helmet.

Hadar lowered the scope from his face and trudged over to his new victim, steam pouring from the blast mark. He knelt down and picked through the Dreg's pockets, finding only Ether Seeds and a wrench. The wind that usually flowed through the Cosmodrome rustled his cloak.

He rose again and started to walk towards his sparrow, hidden between two rusting road transports. As he carefully pulled the sparrow out from between the two, he heard a booming sound far above him and looked towards the sky, the glare of the sun causing him to raise his hand to block the flare of light. He vaguely spotted a Fallen drop ship spiraling down towards him, a pulse torpedo rocketing towards him. He took off running towards the rusting buildings, his sparrow exploding in a ball of fire. He jumped over a scrap heap and slid underneath a leaning door. He found himself in a large room, the ceiling three stories up and made of glass. He looked up, helpless to see the drop ship hovering over the building. Fallen Dregs emerged out of the hatches and started to descend on zip cords. The glass ceiling shattered as Fallen soldiers quickly descended towards the floor, firing their Scout Rifles towards him.

Hadar fired a few shots towards them and ran towards the far wall where a hallway lead away from the main room. He entered the hallway as the Fallen soldiers touched down.

Hadar fired his Pulse rifle down the hallway towards the Dregs as he turned a corner. He stuck a sticky grenade on the already crumbling ceiling and kept running. At the end of the hallway was a door, locked with chains around the two door handles. Hadar unsheathed his knife and threw it at the chains from halfway down the hall. The knife hit the chains and they snapped. As he ran through the doors, he heard his grenade go off behind him and the yells and cries of Fallen Dregs. He heard the rising hum of a Wire Rifle and lunged into the room, a Arc Bullet slicing the air above his head and embedding in the far wall. He rolled over onto his back and fired three repeater shots down the hallway. Only silence came. He stood up, eyeing the dead Fallen goons at the end of the hallway. But something wasn't right. He peered towards the Fallen soldiers and saw a glint of light. His eyes widened.

He ducked as an invisible blade cut through the air where his neck just was. He bear-hugged the waist of his unseen assassin and charged towards a wall. A section of wall was bent and the corner was pointing towards Hadar's head. Hadar rushed towards the wall. He nearly collided with the iron spike before he heard a sickening slick and his pursuer turned visible. A Fallen Vandal stood there, frozen. Hadar stood up, and finding his knife back in his belt, stuck it in the Vandal's stomach and backed away. The Vandal fell to the ground, blue blood pouring over the Fallen pirate's armor.

Suddenly, the roof exploded, hurling Hadar against the ground, his Pulse Rifle flying out of his hands. He was crushed against the floor underneath a chunk of metal. A large figure landed on the floor in front of him. He craned his neck up to see a Fallen Captain staring down at him.

The Captain said something in… whatever the language the Fallen used and aimed his gun at him.

So this is how I die He thought to himself. Fallen pirates are my murderers.

Suddenly, the Captain's face, chest, shoulders and stomach were pierced with shotgun fire. The Captain stumbled back and was meleed in the face by a mysterious Guardian. The Captain fell to the ground, defeated.

"What?" Hadar growned. "I had him."

"Sure." The Guardian said, turning around. "That's why you're trapped underneath a pile of ceiling."

Hadar was surprised by her feminine voice.

"I usually don't meet lady Guardians that often." He said as he struggled to lift the ceiling off his back.

The Warlock bent down to help him.

"That must mean I'm special." She said as she lifted the piece of metal off him. "My name is Alecia."

She took of her helmet to reveal pink hair, yellow eyes and light blue skin. She raised her hand. Hadar took it and she hauled him up.

"Hadar." He introduced himself. "I'm sorry to say but I've never met an Awoken face to face before." Hadar said.

Alecia laughed.

"Good thing you aren't meeting one of the men. They can be very competitive."

"So I've heard." Hadar chuckled.

A booming sound came from above them. They both looked towards the sky to see two small skycraft.

"Fallen?" Alecia asked.

"Nah, that's my ship." Hadar said. "I did the paint job myself, modified it even. But there's another one alongside it."

Alecia raised her scout rifle scope towards the two ships which were now hurtling towards them.

"The other one's mine." She said. "I wonder-"

Hadar's Ghost interrupted the chat.

"Emergency alert from the Tower; urgent." The Ghost informed. "Zavala asked for you two specifically. Huh, I wonder what potential he sees in you, Hadar."

Hadar turned and stared his Ghost right in the eye. The Ghost shrunk back.

"Joking, joking."

And with that, Alecia and Hadar evaporated into thin air.

Thexus stood in the middle of a dust red clearing between two tall, red mountains. Firebase Torcus loomed a few yards away. The sound of explosions and gunfire came from inside the building. Taking a deep breath, he charged.

The sliding door opened for him and he ran into a large chamber, another door on the other side of the room and a statue in the middle. He heard the doors opening on the other side and high jumped over the marble bust. He, in mid air, raised his hand cannon and fired at the unsuspecting enemy's head. The goon fell with a thud.

He ran into the hallway, hopping over the dead body as it disappeared in white light. He neared the end of the hallway as two other assailants marched through the far door. Thexus ran towards them but was brutally cut down by gunfire, bullets piercing his suit and penetrating his iron skin, one bullet cracking his helmet and entering his electronic intelligence matrix. He fell to the ground, defeated, blue liquid trickling out of the suit and staining his Titan's mark. He closed his eyes as he was enveloped in white light. He opened his eyes to find himself in the same clearing in front of Firebase Torcus. Sighing, he jogged back in the Firebase.

"You're falling behind." Lord Shaxx's voice rang over his team's comm channel.

Thexus kept running, building up speed. He entered the same hallway to see the same two enemies, opposing Guardians on Alpha team, not suspecting an attack. Thexus hurled himself at the first, meleeing him in the face with devastating strength. The Guardian flew back and slammed through the door, rolling in the red dust to a stop.

Thexus grabbed the second's shotgun and, using the gun as a lever, swung the Guardian around into a wall. The Guardian staggered back and Thexus brought both fists on the man's helmet. The Guardian crumpled to the floor.

"You're in the lead." Lord Shaxx's voice thankfully sounded the team's success. "One minute remaining."

Thexus walked out of the hallway into the main courtyard. A large spire was in the middle of the yard, doors on each side of it leading into the base. He heard a door open and a whistling sound flew through the air. He held up his left and, without looking, caught a throwing knife. He turned to the door on his far left to see a Hunter, not moving, staring at his failed assassination. Thexus reared up and threw the knife back. Just as the knife neared the Hunter's face, the enemy disappeared.

"Emergency situation!" Lord Shaxx said urgently through the comms. "I'm calling this match! The City is danger!"

Thexus teleported to his ship. He took of his helmet and stared at a computer monitor with his blue, electronic eyes. Shaxx came up on live video feed from his desk at the Tower.

"Everyone, remain calm. Set your headings to the Reef, Asteroid Vesta, Jupiter Station and Cheyenne Mountain Complex immediately!"

His ship went into Slipstream Drive.

"Apparently, from the Emergency Vanguard Reports, there's a cosmic distortion underneath the surface of Venus." His Ghost said. "I wonder what the trouble with that is."

"Hmm." Thexus murmured.

His ship jumped out of Slipstream flight with a multitude of other ships, all descending towards the former North American territory known as Colorado. Thexus' ship veered off from the main group and flew towards Russia.

"What?" Thexus asked. "Cheyenne Complex is that way."

"Yeah, I know." His Ghost explained. "But we are summoned before the Vanguard for a special mission."

"Crap." He muttered underneath his breath as his ship spiraled down towards the Tower.

"Shut up!" Llya hissed at her two partners.

"Jeez, Llya." Hemix snickered. He turned to his other friend. "Lady Titans. Always so bossy."

"You only know one lady Titan." Arnix pointed out. "And that's her."

"We've been hunting Paskin for weeks now." Llya stated. "Let's get this over with and then make fun of each other's class, okay?"

The Earth's radiance shown over the rocky, gray plateau of the Moon. Three small hovercraft sped across the field towards the strike team's hiding spot. Llya readied her rocket launcher.

"Remember the plan. I take out the first vehicle and you, Arnix, sparrow over to the second car and plant the mine. Then Hemix, you finish off the Baron."

"We know." Arnix said, readjusting his Warlock bond.

"We aren't dumb." Hemix said.

"You are." Llya explained. "Arnix and I are not."

And with that, Arnix crept over to his spot and spawned his Sparrow, signaling Llya. Aiming her Gjallarhorn, she fired. The rocket sped toward the first hovercraft. A fireball engulfed the convoy but the two heavily armored vehicles burst through the fire cloud. Arnix took of on his speeder and pulled up alongside the second hovercraft. Planting a sticky grenade on the front left power lifter, he pulled away as an electric charge crippled the vehicle and it veered to the left, dragging its left side into the dirt until it slid to a halt.

Hemix summoned his Golden Gun and fired a shot into the door, blasting it off. He looked inside the hovercraft to find nothing. He backed up and fired a shot through the window, killing the Vandal pilot.

"He isn't in there." He called to Arnix and Llya.

"But it was confirmed he was in the convoy!" Llya exclaimed.

"I wonder why the third hovercraft isn't returning to assist its fallen carrier." Arnix asked, staring after the third hovercraft, now speeding away.

The two looked at each other and Llya yelled at Hemix.

"Hemix! Shoot the third one!"

"Crap, too far." Hemix lamented as he aimed his Golden Gun at the far away speeder and fired.

The bullet shot through the air and punctured the back left power lifter. It exploded, causing the hovercraft to careen towards a huge canyon, miles deep. From there position, Hemix could see a figure in tan armor leap out of the vehicle as it fell of the edge.

The three called in there Sparrows and the charged towards the Baron as they were a few yards away, Llya's Ghost informed the trio through the Fireteam's comms "Emergency alert. Report to the Tower."

"No! Don't you dar-" Llya yelled at her Ghost as they disappeared, leaving Paskin alone on the edge of a cliff.

Hadar and Alecia walked out of the hangar, dodging bustling work droids and Guardians, making there way to the Hall of Vanguards.

"Gosh, this place is a mess." Alecia marveled.

"Is this place always like this?" Hadar asked.

"When was the last time you were here?" She asked.

"I don't really like coming here." Hadar confessed. "I refer to remain more free. I feel more alive when I have to do more things by myself."

The two walked past the Cryptarch and descended the steps.

"What if you have engrams to decode?" Alecia questioned.

"I have my ways." Hadar said slyly as they descended the steps passing Eris Morn.

Alecia stopped Hadar in front of Lord Shaxx's desk.

"You're a scavenger Guardian, aren't you." She deduced. "A Guardian who acts independant and on his own terms. You're like the Exo Stranger in those old Ghost stories. A fighter who doesn't act for the good of the Vanguard."

Hadar walked around her.

"So what? Whatever quest those blowhards in the Hall want, I probably won't accept anyway." Alecia got in front of him again.

"I feel like you want to help, but don't want to get involved with the Traveler. You just want to live in an old, rusty house in the Cosmodrome, don't you." Alecia smiled, as if interrogating a man to death was her favorite pastime.

Hadar shrugged. "It's not that rusty."

Just then, a commotion erupted behind Eris' stand and a Warlock rolled down the left staircase.

Clutching the back of his head, he took of his helmet, revealing his chalk white skin and yellow hair, and scratched the top of his head.

"If I wasn't in armor, I'd have a concussion, you idiot!" He called up the stairs.

"I don't care!" Another man called down.

A Hunter slid down the railing and put the Warlock in a headlock.

"Take it back!" The Hunter ordered, his brown goatee glistening with sweat.

"But I'm right!" The Warlock gasped. "In a fight, a Warlock could beat a Hunter."

"No." The Hunter said. "Just...no."

A Titan jumped down the stairs and push the Hunter away.

"What are you doing?!" She cried.

"Arnix said Warlocks are better than Hunters!" The Hunter said.

"Everything would be better than Hunters if they all acted like you!" She snarled.

The Titan helped the Awoken Warlock to his feet and the two started walked towards Hadar and Alecia when the Hunter grabbed a green orb from Eris' empty desk and threw it at the Titan when, out of nowhere, a Titan leaped off the stairs and caught the orb mid flight.

All of them stared at the new arrival who was able to catch a moving object.

The new Titan turned to the Hunter.

"We wouldn't be trying to use an instrument in stopping the Hive as a weapon against our own comrades, now would we?" He asked.

The Hunter gulped and shook his head.

"Good." The new Titan tossed the ball to him. "Now kindly put that back where it belongs."

The Hunter scrambled to the stand and placed it very delicately back in the spot where he took it from and shuffled to his other two companions.

Everyone eyed each other awkwardly. The first Titan took off her helmet to reveal long, brown hair and hazel brown eyes.

"While I'm not one for introductions," she said. "I'm Llya."

"I'm Hemix." The Hunter said.

"Arnix." The Warlock raised his hand.

The other Titan took off his helmet and placed it on Lord Shaxx's desk to show his iron-plated face, blue eyes and multiple battle scars leaking orange light.

"I am Thexus."

"I'm Alecia." Alecia gave a tiny wave.

Silence followed.

Aleica sighed.

"This is Hadar. He hasn't seen many Guardians before. He may seem hardcore on the outside but underneath the helmet, he's a really cool guy!" She explained.

"We've known each other for an hour." He said non emotionally.

Hemix snickered.

"Ah, Guardians." Cayde-6 walked up to them. "C'mon in. You're probably wondering why you're here."

They follow Cayde in, other high ranking members of the Vanguard filing out. At the table were Zavala, Ikora Rey, and others like Amanda Holliday and an Awoken scientist.

"Guardians, it's a pleasure meeting you all again." Zavala greeted them then turned to Hadar. "I don't believe I've seen you before."

"No, we haven't." Hadar said and left it at that.

Ikora pressed a button on the table and the holographic map of Venus popped up, a red dot on the edge of the Ishtar Sink.

"A large Vex Gate is activating underneath the Ishtar Sink." Ikora explained. "Make that a huge one."

"Big enough to teleport a 7-story building." Cayde chimed in.

"So let me guess." Arnix interrupted. "You're sending us to the Gate to shut it down."

"There's a catch." Ikora said. "Normal Vex Gates are only five stories and the Gate Lord controlling it is two stories smaller than the Gate."

"So the Gate Lord, whatever that is, guarding this thing is five stories high." Hadar deduced.

"Exactly. But that's not the end of it." Zavala continued. "A few hours ago, the Reef detected a massive Vex object traveling towards Earth. If these two incidents are connected, we could be facing a Vex invasion."

Silence followed but was soon broken by Alecia.

"But why us?"

"Simple." Cayde said. "You, Alecia have received much praise from my friend Ikora over here." He pointed to Ikora who nodded in agreement. "You too, Arnix, since you've mastered the ways of storm-summoning."

"Stormcalling." Both Arnix and Ikora said at once.

"Thexus, you've shown much skill in hand to hand combat." Zavala complemented. "Llya, Hemix and Arnix, you were chosen for your ability to work amazing together, hence your 98% success rate."

"99 if we were still on the moon." Llya muttered.

"And Hadar for your ability to adapt to different situations and bravely taking on the wild frontier of the Cosmodrome."

"You will be transported to the drop point by this." Holliday explained, projecting an image of a Fallen skiff. "We captured this skiff and started outfitting it with special Vanguard weaponry and better engines. You'll be dropped of half a mile away from the entrance. Better you arrive in one ship than in six, less chance of them seeing you that way."

"The Gate's signal goes through a generator to boost the distance." Zavala stated. "Your mission is to take out the Gate before any Vex get through. We'll have a force on this side incase any Vex get through."

"The portal is a one way trip so we can't go in to help you from the other side." Cayde informed.

"Going with you is Doctor Savenge." Ikora said and the Awoken scientist waved. "He's an expert on Vex technology, he'll advise you on how to shutdown the Gate."

"Pleasure meeting you all." The doctor said.

"Take off is in two hours." Zavala informed. "May the Traveler's light go with you on your mission."

"In other words," Cayde said. "good luck."


	2. Chapter 2

The Raid Team marched through a hallway lead by Shipright Holliday.

"She's just finished being refurbished." She said. "The stealth drive has been tested and proved operational. The pilot system is a little glitchy but cooperative if you're forceful enough."

She lead them out onto landing pad D-7, her short, blonde hair flapping in the breeze. They walked towards the Fallen Skiff, worker droids doing finishing touches on the deployed landing gear.

"The Skiff is a few years old, but it may prove to be useful in transporting multiple Guardians to one location for the future." Holliday explained. "You won't have to worry about the Fallen shooting you down, and some old landing codes are in the data system just in case."

The seven boarded the Skiff. Holliday stepped in.

"You win this and I will grant you all the best ships in the fleet." Holliday promised.

When she was a safe distance from the ship, the landing ramp reeled up and the Skiff hovered into the air. The landing gear retracted as the Skiff orbited the Tower one more time before soaring into the atmosphere.

"Well," Hadar said, who was piloting the ship. "I guess this is it."

And with that, he pulled a lever and the Skiff jumped into Slipstream.

The Skiff slowed out if Slipstream and streaked towards Venus' atmosphere.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the most Vex-inhabited planet in our solar system." Llya announced, peering out of a viewport.

A circular computer screen on Hadar's left began to beep as a red dot appeared behind them.

"We have a dot following us." Hadar said.

Arnix walked over.

"That's a radar. It shows a circular area around the ship." He explained. "It seems a little less advanced than our Vanguard grade models."

"Okay, but what is the blip?" Hadar asked.

"Possibly an enemy ship." Arnix suggested and turned to a tactical monitor on the wall. He tapped a few buttons and the Skiff's rear view camera activated, showing a small, rectangular, one person ship.

"A Fallen Keltrak-class fighter." Arnix said.

A beeping noise sounded as a button on a keyboard on the right of Hadar turned red.

"I think the Fallen are hailing us." Hadar said and pressed the button.

The Fallen soldier's voice rang throughout the ship. Hadar pulled the microphone over to him and, pressing a button on the microphone stand, replied in the Fallen language. The let the button go and waited. More Fallen chatter. Hadar replied once again and the Fallen fighter veered off. The red blip on the radar disappeared.

"What did you say?" Arnix asked.

"That we were a Skiff bound for Vex territory to deliver a payload of bombs." Hadar said. "He said some mean words against the Vex and I agreed and he left."

"How do you know how to speak Fallen?" Alecia asked.

"Well, it became easier as time went on." Hadar confessed. "I lived in the Cosmodrome for so long so I kinda adopted the language."

"Huh, cool." Alecia remarked.

The Skiff dived through the clouds, dodged some towering mountains and landed in a clearing. The Vex Citadel loomed in the distance.

"Alright everyone!" Hemix exclaimed sarcastically. "Welcome to Venus, the Garden Planet! The most tropical sphere revolving around the Sun! Watch out for evil aliens who want to kill you!"

"Shut up." Llya groaned.

The mossy cliffs which extended into the sky above them were pelted with rainfall. The yellow-ish sand melted into mud beneath their feet. Little puddles formed in the sand.

"If you hooligans would stop talking, I'm reading a massive Vex stronghold this way." The doctor said, holding his touch pad in his hand.

The doctor didn't have a Ghost since he wasn't a Guardian, so he was provided with a touch pad and a Sidearm.

"Wow, doc, I was starting to like you." Hemix remarked, calling in his Sparrow.

"Well, I don't like you." The doctor insulted. "You're all killing machines with no regard for life. You kill without prejudice, and that is something I will never enjoy."

"You were nice to us in the Skiff." Arnix protested. "Why get in a pickle now?"

"The Vanguard might have added listening devices." The doctor stated frankly and turned away.

The six looked at one another with worried looks.

The seven drove towards the Vex base, the doctor using a civilian Hover Scooter P-9. Soon, a huge wall, tucked underneath a mountain, loomed ahead. A large gate, three stories high, blocked anyone from entering the cave that laid beyond the wall.

"That's a huge wall." Hadar said.

"Of course it is." Thexus called to him over the roar of the Sparrows. "The Vex built it."

"They usually built large structures like this!" The doctor yelled, his scooter puttering at the end of the pack. "Of course, none of you killing machines would know that."

Llya shook her head in despair.

"He's been like this the whole ride!" She reasoned. "He won't help with combat if he's yelling at us!"

"He must come." Thexus called back. "The Vanguard say it's for the good of the City!"

"I don't even live in the City!" Hadar protested.

"If not for the City, then for the people in it." Thexus shot back.

"You savages!" The doctor taunted. "Not caring for the people, only for the Traveler! What if the Traveler left? Would you leave to-"

A red beam of light shot from the top of the wall and pierced through the doctor's helmet. The doctor went limp and fell to the ground, his speeder falling and skidding on it's side to a stop.

"Dismount!" Thexus ordered. "NOW!"

Everyone rolled off their Sparrows as more laser shots and imbedded in the ground. Everyone dived behind rocks as laser pellets flew through the air.

"Grenades! Launch!" Arnix called.

All six threw their grenades onto the wall and watched as Hobgoblins flew off and slid down the slanted wall face. Hadar raised his sniper rifle, the 1000-Yard Stare, and shot off a few heads of the Vex snipers. He still saw movement on the top of the wall.

"What's on top of the wall?" He asked Alecia, who was on the ground next to him.

"Vex drones can still operate without heads." Alecia explained. "Shoot the glowing white orb in their chests."

Hadar raised his sniper again and shot the moving white spots on the wall and the movement stopped.

Everyone walked over to the huge door.

"Well," Llya said. "That was a fiasco."

"The doctor's down." Arnix stated. "No doubt about that."

Everyone turned towards the burning wreckage of the Hover Speeder and the dead body lying nearby.

"He wasn't going to help us anyway." Thexus thought outloud.

After a few minutes of code-hacking, Alecia's Ghost hovered away from the door controls.

"This is a whole new level of Vex code." The Ghost said. "I can't crack it."

"What do we do?" Alecia asked the group.

Silence followed. Finally Hadar spoke up.

"Maybe the doctor's pad will have something."

Hexus jogged over to the touch pad, lying near the burning speeder. After clearing some mud off the screen, he walked back to the Raid Team.

"Here it is." He gave the pad to Arnix.

Arnix flipped through a few screens. He finally held the pad up to the door control and a blue light shot out of the top of the pad, showing the control in a blue glow.

The pad showed:

ANALYZING VEX NETWORK…

10%...52%...98%...

NETWORK UNLOCKED

The door opened with a groan. Huge motors retracted the four sides of the door into the wall and the six entered.

The hallway was taller than the entrance. It took five minutes to enter the first chamber. The cavern was huge and very, very empty. A wide river with black water ran through the middle of the chamber. The only object in the room was a large, curved bridge that lead over the river.

Another hallway on the other side lead deeper into the base.

"This place is huge." Hadar remarked. "I've never seen anything as big as this place!"

A loud moan of a machine echoed through the cavern.

"That's the Gate!" Hemix cried.

The Raid Team ran across the bridge and deeper into the Darkness.

* * *

A huge object advanced towards Earth. It's head was a cone, its abdomen had three identical tentacles swirling clockwise around and the thorax was an ovalish cylinder, providing the thrust. It neared Earth's atmosphere and stopped. The cone unfolded into a dish. The tentacles accelerated faster and faster. Suddenly a beam of light shot out from the dish and rocketed towards Russia. It touched down in the Cosmodrome, sending a huge ring of dust miles in each direction.

"Send the City Defence Force!" Zavala said, viewing a map of the Cosmodrome in the Tower. "Immediately! Gather all the Guardians we have and get them to the rupture point!"

Soldiers in black armor with the label CDF hustled to ground and air vehicles. Guardians in ships flew quickly towards the beam of light which could be seen miles away from the Tower.

"The end times are here, people." Ikora said through the comms. "So stop time."

* * *

"Not good guys." Hadar said, scampering back to the team, hidden behind a pillar. "Around the corner are about 15 Goblins, 3 Minotaurs, and 4 Cyclops are on raised platforms surrounded by 3 Hobgoblins each."

"Crap." Hemix said. "We've never faced anything like this before." He turned to Llya and Arnix.

"I think I can handle the soldiers on the ground." Alecia said. "I'll need someone to take down the Cyclops and Hobgoblins."

"I have a plan." Thexus said. "Alecia, you do your thing while Llya, Hemix, Arnix and I use rocket launchers to take out the Cyclops. Hadar, you snipe one Hobgoblin on each platform. The blast radius from the rocket launchers should damage the rest."

"Okay." The rest said at once.

"Ready?" Thexus asked.

Llya, Arnix and Hemix pulled out their rocket launcher, Alecia sparked with electricity and Hadar cocked his sniper rifle.

"Go!" Thexus ordered.

Hadar was the first to reach the corner. He swiftly raised his scope and shot two Hobgoblins on different pads with ease. The four rocket launcher Guardians ran out and fired on rocket into each Cyclops. The four Cyclops exploded, the shrapnel knocking the other Hobgoblins off the platforms. Lightning sprouted from Alecia's hands and she waded into the squad of Goblins. The Goblins disintegrated and the Minotaurs sunk to their knees and fell on their faces. But one didn't. It raised its foot to kick Alecia in the face. Alecia tried but her lightning wasn't enough.

Suddenly, Thexus leaped in front of her. The Minotaur's foot rammed Thexus's head and he was squashed. The Minotaur's head flew off as a bullet pierced it's eye.

Hadar lowered his scope and ran over to Alecia. He held her shoulders for a second then turned to Thexus. His helmet was flattened, blue blood pouring out of the cracks in his helmet.

Hadar turned to his team.

"We have to keep going." He told them. "It's what Thexus would want."

Hadar turned to Thexus' Ghost.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He told the Ghost.

"Yeah." The Ghost said. "I am too."

The Ghost disappeared in a flash. The team kept going, walking underneath arches supporting huge electric cords supplying the Gate with energy. The walked in between glowing Vex Spires. Once, they walked underneath a large hole that lead up to the surface. Flowers and fluorescent leaves floated down, enveloping the team in a beautiful rainfall.

"You know, I'd like this place if it wasn't overrun by robots." Llya remarked.

As the team kept walking, a red eye watched them from the shadows. It marked each of their heads and hovered away into the darkness.

The team jogged through another hallway when a section of wall parted. The team immediately raised their warpons.

"What's in there?" Arnix asked.

"Something big." Alecia replied.

With the humm of a powering computer, a Hydra hovered out of the darkness, firing multiple plasma torpedoes towards them. They all jumped out of the way except for Alecia who rolled her grenade under the whirling shield of the Hydra. A fiery bomb exploded, sending waves of heat rolling up the Hydra's back.

"Don't get too close." Alecia called to Hadar who was taking a position behind a pillar. "It has an Arc Wave generator if you get to close!"

"Don't worry, I won't!" Hadar called back, throwing his knife in between the two shields and into the Hydra's eye.

Hemix summoned his Golden Gun and shot the Hydra three times. One bullet hit the sheild and bounced off, hitting the ground near Arnix's feet.

"Keep fighting! It's almost down!" The Ghosts said in unison.

Llya fired her Auto Rifle, the Red Death, repeatedly. Ratta tatta tatta.

Arnix launched an orb of Void power towards the Hydra, purple wispy tendrils piercing the Hydra's body.

The Hydra, its outer shell battered by gunfire, sank to the ground and exploded, sending chunks of metal flying everywhere. Alecia ducked as a huge piece flew over her head. As the dust settled, the five Guardians came out from their hiding spots.

Arnix walked over and picked up the Hydra's eye.

"Huh." Arnix said. "Interesting."

Suddenly, a red light in the shrapnel lit up and began to blink.

"It's a distress call!" Alecia said. "There's one in every Vex unit! It's calling for reinforcements!"

Llya ran over and shot it with her shotgun. The red light went dead.

"Well," Hemix remarked. "That went well."

* * *

A huge beam of white light drilled into the ground, a loud hum rang throughout the Cosmodrome. A mile away, Zavala lowered his combat binoculars.

"It's been going for more than an hour." He muttered to himself. "So where are they?"

Behind him was a tent, the Vanguard banner flapping in the wind on a short flag pole nearby. He walked into the tent, the entrance guarded by two City Defence Force soldiers.

Zavala approached a holographic image of the surrounding area being projected from a small table in the back of the room. Travis Mcduff, head of the City Defense Force, stood at the other side of the holographic image.

"My men are in position and my heavy support vehicles are a few kilometers away from here. Battery squads are positioned on the surrounding hills." Mcduff reported.

"Good," Zavala said. "We'll need all the firepower we can get."

"And what of your Guardians?" Mcduff asked.

"With the City on lockdown and since the Guardians were recalled from their previous missions, I deployed them to different parts of the Solar System to make sure the Hive or the Cabal don't get off-world." Zavala said. "I have a few teams scattered throughout the Cosmodrome fighting the Fallen in case they try to take advantage of the situation. I brought a few Raid Teams here. I left about 55 Guardians to defend the City."

"Well, the CDF men you don't see here are also at the City." Mcduff assured. "I left the Air Patrol to guard the City as well."

"It's all up to the Guardians now." Zavala said, pulling up the map of Venus, the red spot growing larger.

* * *

"I can see why the Vex built this thing so far down." Hemix remarked. "Any invading force would die of aching or just turn around."

The Raid Team hustled through tall corridors and through stone-walled courtyards which holes in the granite ceiling let sunlight shine down into the caverns.

Finally, they walked through an archway and into a huge chamber. Four evenly placed iron cones protruded from the floor and ceiling. In between them a gigantic electric orb spun around, sending tendrils of Arc power to the iron stalactite. A multitude of cords poked out of the stalagtite and lead into the ceiling far above.

"Power transfusors." Arnix remarked. "If there's too much power coming from the surface, these open and closed valves to regulate power flow. If we took out these, it could stop all power flow to the Gate."

"Okay," Aleica strategized. "Llya, use Ward of Dawn to put up a shield in the middle of the complex. The rest of us, each of us take a generator. Llya, hop around to each generator once in awhile."

Everyone ran to a different location. As Llya reached the middle a dark cloud formed over her head.

"Oh gosh." She exclaimed. "Vex!"

She leaped out of the way as ten Goblins teleported to the center of the room. More dark clouds formed in each corner of the room.

"I guess we didn't kill the distress call!" Arnix lamented.

"Ready yourselves!" Hadar ordered.


	3. Chapter 3

Vex automatons teleported in around them, firing at the five guardians.

"Llya, now!" Hemix called.

Llya raised her hands and a blue dome formed around her. Goblins on every side advanced towards the dome. Suddenly, bolts of lightning eradicated them. Aleica held up her hands towards another group of Hobgoblins and shot lightning at them, destroying them, too.

Hemix fired his scout rifle at the generator but the bullets just bounced of an invisible shield and hit the wall of the chamber behind him.

"They're shielded!" Hemix shouted, dodging a Vex grenade and firing back.

"The shields must be controlled by an Axis mind!" Arnix shouted back.

Suddenly, with a screech, the door at the other side of the chamber opened, and a story tall Minotaur emerged from the darkness of the hallway behind him. The Minotaur raised his torch hammer and fired three explosives at them. Llya jumped out off the way as one slammed into the ground she was standing on. Hemix stabbed the last Goblin.

"Last Goblin is down!" Hemix shouted. "Go to town on that peice of crap!"

Hemix whipped out his machine gun and let loose a hail of bullets. The bullets pelted the Minotaur's shield. But within seconds, he ran out of ammo and he barely dodged another volley from the Torch Hammer.

"We need to concentrate fire on the boss!" Hemix yelled out.

Alecia, Hemix, Hadar and Llya focused fire on the Minotaur. Arnix raised his scout rifle when he noticed the generator next to him began to make weird noises. He looked up as the shield to the generator began to fizzle and crackled. He raised his gun and fired three shots. Suddenly, the Minotaur roared and sunk to one knee.

"What's happening?" Hadar asked.

"The Minotaur regulates the shields to the generators as well as his own!" Arnix called. "If we damage both, he won't be able to divert enough power to either one. I'll find a way! Keep him occupied! Hadar, I need your help, though!"

Hadar backed up and ran behind the others and over to Arnix who was looking around the chamber.

"Yo, what's up?" Hadar asked.

"There might be a maintenance panel in here where I can access the mainframe using the Hydra eye I picked up earlier." Arnix said.

"Like the one over there?" Hadar pointed to a computer in a small alcove in the back left corner.

"Oh." Arnix realized.

"Do we have a plan yet?" Llya yelled from her hiding place as a Torch volley flew over her.

Arnix and Hadar ran over to the alcove and looked at the computer screen.

"This monitors the shield percentage for every transfusore." Arnix explained. "If the Minotaur is too busy shielding himself, he has to draw power from the transfusore's shields. But if the transfusore's shields get to low, he has to give some power back, and that's how we kill him."

Arnix looked at the screen.

"Bottom left." Arnix said and Hadar shot the trasfusore at the bottom left corner a few times.

"Top left." Arnix said and Hadar shot that one.

"Bottom right." BANG BANG

"Top right." BANG BANG

The Minotaur stopped shooting and staggered back and reached out his hands. Arnix looked at the computer and saw that the status of the four transfusores' shields were gaining power.

"He's diverting his shield power to the transfusores'!" Arnix shouted. "Shoot him!"

A barrage of bullets pierced the Minotaur. It roared out and a dark cloud appeared in the center of the room.

"Reinforcements!" Alecia warned.

"There are Vex Zealots powering both tranfusores and the Minotaur! Wipe out the Zealots, that's the only way we can damage them!"

Llya reached into the air and a fiery hammer appeared in her hand. Hemix reached out and a purple glowing bow formed. Alecia reached to the ground and suddenly lightning shot out of her hands.

"Let's create some havoc." Llya said boldly and leapt into battle.

Alecia tore through the Goblin ranks, decimating anything the lighting connected with. Hemix let his arrow fly as he launched himself into the air. The arrow flew into a group of HobGoblins and they exploded in a purple glow of light. Tendrils of blue smoke darted out and slammed into the surrounding enemies, slowing them down. Llya threw her hammer into the trapped Vex, causing tiny explosions where the hammer landed. Soon, only three HobGoblins Zealots, bigger than the regulars, remained. Llya threw her last hammer, Hemix shot his last arrow and Alecia shot her last lightning bolts. Each Zealot blew up.

The Minotaur then stood up and continued his barrage of Torch Missiles.

"Okay." Arnix said to Hadar. "Bottom right, bottoms left, top left, top right."

Hadar wasted no time, shooting the shields in the order Arnix had called out. The Minotaur knelt down again, giving his power back to the shields. Llya, Hemix and Alecia let everything loose against the unshielded Minotaur.

"His health is low, keep fighting!" Alecia's Ghost told her.

Llya equipped her rocket launcher and fired a shot strait at it's head. The huge droid erupted in a huge ball of light.

"Shoot the generators quickly! Destroy them!" Arnix shouted.

Hadar, Hemix, Llya and Alecia each chose different generators and kept firing at them. A loud humming noise rose in tone at the generators began to brighten. They kept firing as the power inside them began to build up. Llya destroyed hers and the others quickly followed. The loud humming noise faded and the door at the far side of the chamber began to grind open.

"Well, that was tough." Llya panted.

A huge tremor shook the chamber as a huge blast rippled through the entire base.

"Guardian, the interference is clearing up," Cayde 6 said over the radio. "but the Gate Orbiter hovering in the atmosphere around the City is still powering up, meaning they must have another backup power source. Get going."

"Cayde-6 sent word that the Raid Team has cut off the main power, so that may buy us some time." Zavala said, walking out of his command tent in the Cosmodrome and over next to McDuff, head of the City Defence Force. They looked towards the huge white beam of energy penetrating the Cosmodrome dirt a few yards away.

"They're buying us time." McDuff said. "But not enough time."

Suddenly, the energy beam started pulsing. A Descendant Vex Minotaur stepped out of the energy beam and fired Torch rounds into the defender's lines.

"Time is always against us." Zavala moaned as he donned his helmet and ran to the front lines.

The five ran down the huge hallways until they stood in front of another huge door.

"Great, now what?" Hemix wondered.

"The doctor's pad might help." Arnix deduced and, walking over to a computer console on the left side of the door, held it up to the screen. Flashing text on the pad read:

DECRYPTING VEX LOCKOUT NETWORKS

1… 2… 3…

"This is going to take a while." Arnix said.

Suddenly, a cloud began to form in the air a little ways behind them.

"Vex, again." Alecia warned as she raised her scout rifle.

The first wave of units teleported in, all white and glowing with their gold machinery glinting from underneath their armor.

"Precursors!" Llya exclaimed, tossing a grenade which sent sparks of lightning into their ranks. Unit after unit fell, but the longer the decryption took, the more vex teleported in.

The conflict lasted several long minutes until Vex Harpies, small flying turrets, opened fire, red dots shooting out of the three barrels. Arnix was standing in the middle of the hallway, about fire a rocket into the enemy force when dozens of later bullets pierced his Warlock cloak. He fell to the floor with a thud.

"Arnix!" Hemix cried, but couldn't reach him from behind cover.

Suddenly, gold light appeared around Arnix's dead body. Somehow he stood up and began throwing grenade after grenade into the Vex.

The Vex ranks diminished after multiple grenades decimating their numbers. The remaining Precursor Vex drones teleported out, leaving the guardians alone. A alert came up from the Doctor's pad, who Alecia was holding up to the door console. The huge door grinded open, revealing a huge cavern. Far below mist shrouded whatever lay deeper beneath Venus' surface. A half a mile away another huge door, built into the opposite wall of the huge crevice, lay shut. Small islands of floating Vex tech floated in the air in between the two doors, each one disappearing and reappearing at random.

"This jumping puzzle is like the one at the top of the Vex Citadel on Venus." Hemix said. "I almost fell to my death."

"These islands slip in and out of time." Arnix's Ghost said. "Wait on one to long and the one you're standing on might disappear. Long way down."

Llya was the first to jump. She stepped back and leaped into the air and leaped to the next. Arnix followed, then Hadar, then Alecia, then Hemix. The first four reached the other side and they all turned to see Hemix a little ways behind.

"I'm coming." Hemix called but as he jumped, the platform he was standing on dissapeared.

"Uh oh." Llya muttered. "Hemix, might want to speed up!"

Hemix landed on the next one and jumped just as that one disappeared as well.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot." Hemix spat.

He landed on the next and jumped as it disappeared. He leaped for the next and was about to land on it as it faded away.

"No!" Arnix cried.

Hemix gasped as he began to fall.


	4. Chapter 4

"These islands slip in and out of time." Arnix's Ghost said. "Wait on one to long and the one you're standing on might disappear. Long way down."

Llya was the first to jump. She stepped back and leaped into the air and leaped to the next. Arnix followed, then Hadar, then Alecia, then Hemix. The first four reached the other side and they all turned to see Hemix a little ways behind.

"I'm coming." Hemix called but as he jumped, the platform he was standing on dissapeared.

"Uh oh." Llya muttered. "Hemix, might want to speed up!"

Hemix landed on the next one and jumped just as that one disappeared as well.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot." Hemix spat.

He landed on the next and jumped as it disappeared. He leaped for the next and was about to land on it as it faded away.

"No!" Arnix cried.

Hemix gasped as he began to fall. The four guardians ran to the edge to see him land on a small Vex platform not far below.

"My jump distance can't reach the next platform, it's too high up!" Hemix yelled up as he looked around and spied something. "The rock wall looks climbable!"

"Hemix don't you dare…" Llya yelled down, but it was too late.

He leaped into the air, his hand outstretched towards the rock wall. He slammed against the side of the cavern with a thud, his left hand grasping a tiny ledge. He struggled to get a foothold and finally placed his foot in a tiny outcropping. Reaching up with his other hand he hauled himself up and began to scale the huge wall.

Llya and Arnix watched from the platform while Hadar and Alecia began to decrypt the Vex door lockout. They heard a commotion behind them and turned around to see the door on the other side of the chasm was opening. A laser bolt shot across the chasm and collided with the huge door above Hadar's head. They ducked down as more Hobgoblins appeared on the other side of the void, shooting bullet after bullet.

Llya and Arnix saw the Hobgoblins on the other side.

"Hemix! Climb faster!" Llya called down.

"I know!" Hemix retorted.

Hemix continued to climb until his hands found a flat horizontal surface. He pulled himself onto it and found himself at an entrance to a small cave. At the end of the cave, a small metal door lay shut, imbedded in the wall.

"Guys, I found something!" Hemix called up.

"What?" Arnix called down, the other three providing cover fire.

"An escape hatch of some sort." Hemix called back. "Get down here! It's our way out!

Arnix turned to his comrades.

"Follow me." He ordered, and jumped off the platform.

Hemix found a button and pressed it and a small landing platform extended out over the edge. Arnix hovered down and landed on it.

"That's new." Arnix said.

Hemix took his hand of the button and the landing platform slid back into the clif face. Arnix hovered in the air for a second and just started to fall as Hemix reached out and took his hand and hauled him into the cave.

"Guess I have to keep pressing the button." Hemix chuckled.

"I guess so." Arnix sighed as he got up and dusted off his cloak. "Ghost, see what you can do about that door."

Arnix's Ghost appeared out of his backpack and hovered over to the door as Alecia landed on the pad.

"It's not as complex as the large door above us." His Ghost informed. "Give me a minute."

"Hadar, Llya." Hemix said into the comms. "Stay up there for a bit longer. We wouldn't want enemy fire concentrated to the cave."

"My shield won't last for much longer." Llya replied, she and Hadar taking cover inside a purple dome, the enemy bullets bouncing off.

"What about the Hydra eye you picked up." Alecia reminded Arnix. "Maybe that's the key into the door."

"Yes, I need access from a Vex Zealot or higher." His Ghost told him.

Arnix walked to the door and held the Hydra eye to the door. A beam of light shot out and hit the eye, scanning it. The door opened.

"Hadar, Llya, now!" Hemix ordered.

"Ladies first." Hadar said, and Llya hopped off the platform and into the cave, Hadar close behind.

Hemix let go of the button and leaped through the door as it was closing.

"Dang, what a puzzle that was." Hemix remarked as they continued the trek down a rock staircase.

Zavala carried a man into the infirmary tent where multiple other soldiers and Guardians were being treated. He laid the man down on a stretcher and looked outside the tent flap, where the huge laser digging into the Cosmodrome was still going strong. Vex now swarmed out of the cloud of dust in waves, driving the defenders back.

"Where are you, fireteam?" He muttered and, picking up his Auto Rifle, ran back out into the fray.

The fireteam continued through the large caverns and small crawl ways until the air began to heat up and a humming noise began grow louder and louder.

"We're here." Alecia guessed.

They went from a low-ceiling hallway to a huge chamber, the top of it to high up to see. The far wall was a mile away and in the middle of it all, a huge circular Vex gate with hordes of Vex marching into it, and looming above the army was a gigantic Minotaur, blue light oozing out of the cracks in its armor. It was completely black except for its stomach, where white light shone out of a huge hole in its belly. Two large antennae jutted out of its head, tendrils of Arc electricity crackling along its edges.

Far to the right, another power transfusor like the one before but larger, stood against the wall, but was much taller, and multiple huge cords, as thick as school buses, were connected from the base of the transfusor to the backside of the gate. Next to the transfusor, a large door lay shut, whatever behind it not present in the cavern.

"Okay, so here is what we could do." Alecia offered. "Does anyone here use the Exotic fusion rifle The Sleeper Stimulant?"

Llya raised her hand.

"Okay, good." Alecia said, relieved. "That's powerful enough to cut through the energy cords supplying power to the gate. Does anyone here have the Dragon's Breath or The Gjallarhorn by any chance?"

Hemix and Hadar raised their hands.

"Even better." Alecia encouraged. "That could provide a big distraction for the boss."

"A distraction?" Hemix asked, surprised. "The Gjallarhorn? Those are two words which don't go together."

"I know, but from what I can deduce, if the gate and the Gate King are linked, then the King must draw power from the transfusor as much as the gate does." Alecia predicted. "And if we destroyed four of the five transfusores, then the last must be being taxed greatly. But whatever is behind those doors next to it must be a flood gate for more Vex to defend the generator, so whatever we do, we have to do it fast."

"So here's the plan." Hadar said. "Hemix and I will distract the Gate King while Llya and you two Warlocks cut the cords to the power. If we disconnect those, the Gate King will loose power as well."

Everyone was silent.

"Okay." Arnix agreed. "Let's go save the Earth."

They split up, the two Hunters sneaking towards the gate while the other three headed for the power cords.

The two Hunters sprinted, sliding behind rocks jutting up from the ground until they neared the stage where the huge gate was standing. Hemix's Ghost transported The Gjallarhorn from his vault while Hadar slung The Dragon's Breath off his back.

"I've never used The Dragon's Breath before." Hemix confessed. "Any perks?"

"When I release the trigger, tiny bombs drop out of the rocket." Hadar explained. "Once they land, they spread fire everywhere, perfect for my damage per second ratio. What about yours?"

"The Gjallarhorn rocket releases micro bombs on impact." Hemix taught. "The micro bombs target the largest object around them, in this case being the Gate King."

"Then I guess we'll make a good distraction." Hadar guessed.

And with that, they jumped out of hiding and fired shots towards the Gate King.


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay." Arnix agreed. "Let's go save the Earth."

They split up, the two Hunters sneaking towards the gate while the other three headed for the power cords.

The two Hunters sprinted, sliding behind rocks jutting up from the ground until they neared the stage where the huge gate was standing. Hemix's Ghost transported The Gjallarhorn from his vault while Hadar slung The Dragon's Breath off his back.

"I've never used The Dragon's Breath before." Hemix confessed. "Any perks?"

"When I release the trigger, tiny bombs drop out of the rocket." Hadar explained. "Once they land, they spread fire everywhere, perfect for my damage per second ratio. What about yours?"

"The Gjallarhorn rocket releases micro bombs on impact." Hemix taught. "The micro bombs target the largest object around them, in this case being the Gate King."

"Then I guess we'll make a good distraction." Hadar guessed.

And with that, they jumped out of hiding and fired shots towards the Gate King. The Gjallarhorn rocket exploded against the Minotaur's chest, causing it to stumble back, crushing a few of his minions. The Dragon's Breath rocket dropped inferno pellets mid-flight, sending fire coursing along the ground and melting Vex soldiers, and exploded against the giant's calf.

Meanwhile, Arnix, Alecia and Llya ran to the large backup transfusor which was about 12 yards away. Llya took out her Sleeper Stimulant and got in a firing position. Llya and Hemix stood by her as explosions raged a short ways off.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Alecia asked.

"Hemix is one of the most skilled Hunters I know." Arnix assured. "As for your friend Hadar, I don't know."

Llya pulled back the trigger, and a red glow began to show around the Fusion Rifle. After a few seconds, a red laser bolt shot out from the triangular barrel and sliced into the large power coil. Immediately, red alarm lights blared throughout the cavern. The doors near the trio began to grind open. A huge Harpy, long, thin tentacles waving slowly in the air, hovered out of the darkness. Six large cannons rose up from behind its three large crests and began firing huge bolts of red light. Arnix and Alecia rushed forwards and tossed their grenades. Arnix's bounced off the right crest of the Harpy while Alecia's attached itself to the top crest and exploded, knocking it off balance. Arnix raised his Scout Rifle and shot at the Harpy's one big red eye. Llya fired his fusion rifle again and cut another hole in the large power cord.

The huge gate began to fluctuate and rattle as the power began to dim. Hadar and Hemix had ran out of rocket launcher ammo and began to fire their primary weapons at the huge iron giant, the Gate King moaning and shaking the cavern.

"You dare strike Ares, King of Gates?" A loud, deep, electronic voice asked.

"It can talk?" Hadar questioned.

"No, there just so happens to be a English speaking human in the cavern. Of course it can talk!" Hemix shouted back from behind a rock wall.

"My counterpart, Atheon, Time's Conflux, was eradicated by six Light wielding life forms." Ares said. "There are six Light wielding life forms in this chamber. Their extermination is mandatory."

"Oh crap!" Hemix exclaimed. "Ares thinks we were the ones who killed his brother, even though the Raid team who did died a while ago."

"Without Time's Conflux, the outcome of the Traveler was unknown." Ares continued. "But now, I will decide it's fate."

On the battlegrounds on Earth, Zavala was trying to hold back the waves of Vex with the diminishing number of soldiers. He crouched down behind cover to reload his pulse rifle when he noticed something on the ground. Like ice, a metal-like material was slowly spreading across the ground. He touched down and felt it's rough surface but when he tried to pull his hand away, he couldn't and found the material now spreading up his glove! He quickly undid the glove strap and ripped his hand out of the glove as the material encompassed it.

"Zavala to Ikora." Zavala radioed to the Tower. "I believe the Vex are trying to terraform the planet like what they did with Mercury and Venus."

"If that's true," Ikora guessed. "then there is not much time."

Alecia and Arnix were busy trying to fight off the huge Harpy as Llya cut away at the huge power cords charging the portal. Arnix had taken cover behind a large pile of rocks as lasers cut away at his hiding place.

"Arnix!" Alecia cried from her hiding spot, a metal pillar jutting out of the ground. She glanced towards the huge Harpy blasting away at the pile of stones and then to the transfusor. Then, she thought of something. She raised her pulse rifle and began to shoot at the transfusor and the Harpy faltered and began to shudder violently, its six cannons waving about, shooting into the air and some of the bullets hitting the generator it was trying to protect.

"Keeping shooting!" Arnix called and they both began to shoot the Harpy. Alecia pulled out a green rocket launcher off her back and fired a rocket into the Harpy's eye. The huge floating pentagon blew up, sending shrapnel. Arnix, who had come out from behind his boulder shield, was impaled by 100 mile per hour jagged piece of metal and flew back. Another shrapnel flew towards Llya and cut off the front of the Sleeper Stimulant she was holding.

"Are you kidding me?" Llya roared. "It took me so long to get this!"

Alecia ran over to Arnix's body.

"Arnix!" Alecia cried. "No!"

"Pff, he's fine." Llya said as she walked over.

She reached down and pulled the piece of metal out of his stomach and he exploded in golden light. He sat up, the light around him not worrying him a bit.

"Thanks Llya. Wow, that hurt." Arnix exclaimed.

"Now that the Sleeper is broken, we have to go to plan B." Llya strategized. "Take your grenades and plant them on the transfusor." They ran over and Arnix and Alecia got to work until Alecia called out: "Uh, guys?"

The two jogged over to find Alecia holding a white orb.

"I think this was the ignition key."

They looked up to see the transfusor dark, the white sphere which once spun in between the two cones now disappeared.

Hemix and Hadar were about spent on ammo, now going to hiding behind a frail piece of rock when the huge portal began to turn off.

"Whatever the others did, it was good." Hadar remarked.

"What is this?" Ares roared. "Omitrix, Harpy Supreme, where are you?"

No answer came, but the cavern began to shake.

"Structural integrity decreasing." Ares said out loud. "You life forms must have removed the Power Key."

"Someone, put the Key back in." Hemix said into the radio. "We'll use the Gate to get out of here."

"But someone will have to stay behind." Llya said.

"That'll be me." Hemix volunteered. "This cavern has enough space to call in my Sparrow. Once you guys are through, I'll hop on and speed out of here."

"Okay, but Hadar, be careful." Arnix warned.

"Wait, wait, but what if he doesn't make it out?" Alecia interrogated.

"Then too bad I left my house messy." Hadar shrugged.

Arnix took the orb from Alecia and stuck it back into the socket. Hemix patted Hadar on the shoulder and raced into the open. Out of nowhere, a purple glowing bow appeared in his hands and he fired an arrow into the flood of Vex. The arrow hit a Goblin and a wormhole appeared, sucking the Vex towards it. He quickly pulled out his rocket launcher and fired into the massive swarm, creating a massive explosion.

"Hemix is buying us time." Arnix realized. "Let's go!"

The trio ran towards the platform. Hadar got up and ran past them towards the transfusor. Alecia stopped and gazed after him for a moment and ran after the others.

Hemix jumped around, knifing the now regrouping robots until Ares stomped the ground in front of him and he flew back into the Gate and disappeared.

"Guess we have to follow him." Llya guessed.

She jumped and dodged through Vex and ran into the portal, followed closely by the two Warlocks.

Hadar looked to make sure they were gone and removed the Key. The portal began to fade.

"No!" Ares groaned. "You will not foil my plans!"

Ares stepped of the platform and marched towards Hadar, his shadow encompassing Hadar.

"Ghost?" Hadar asked.

"This terrain is two rocky for the Sparrow to spawn in."

"Shoot." Hadar spat.

He began to charge Ares and as Ares was about to step on him, he rolled in between it's legs and ran for the door. Vex drones shot at him, and he threw a grenade as he ran into the hallway towards the bridge.

"Now?" Hadar asked his Ghost.

"Yep."

A sleek, black hovering two pronged speeder appeared in front of him and he hopped on. He began to speed away as he heard Ares roar.

"Uh, you might want to go faster." His Ghost told him from inside his backpack.

"Why?"

"Because Ares is following us!" His Ghost exclaimed as it peeked out.

Hadar turned his head to see a huge, black, metal giant running after him.

"You won't escape me!" Ares yelled, his voice shaking the hallway.

The huge chasm they crossed earlier now had a metal bridge spanning it. As Hadar crossed over it, he looked up to see a beautiful night sky, the stars twinkling in their own little light, the space behind it black and empty. He looked back behind him to see Ares gaining on him, the bridge trembling at the weight.

On Earth, the line of defense was crumbling. Zavala carried an injured soldier to the medical tent, a scar stretching the left side of his face. As he laid him down on a table, he heard a joyful cry from the defense line. He rushed down to see four Guardians breaking through the wave of Vex. As the last drone was down, the beam of light shut off. In the evening sky, you could see the machine in orbit exploding.

Hemix, Llya, Arnix and Alecia walked up to Zavala.

"Thank you." Zavala smiled. "Where are Thexus and Hadar?"

"Hadar's on the other side turning off the Gate." Hemix reported. "Thexus was crushed by a Minotaur."

Zavala looked down.

"Their sacrifices will be honored."

Hadar made it across the bridge and sped through the places he'd been through only hours before, the beautiful waterfalls, the holes in the ceiling looking up to the skies.

He sped through the first transfusor chamber, narrowly avoiding the body of the Minotaur they had killed. Minutes later, Ares having fallen a bit behind, Hadar arrived at the first bridge they crossed, now broken and a huge gap in between his side and the opposite, the door leading into the open only yards away from the edge on the opposite side, a deep trench spanning from one shore to the other leading so far down Hadar couldn't see the bottom. He turned to see Ares walking into the cavern.

"You're out of time, Light user."

Hadar, thinking fast, sped towards Ares on his Sparrow and seconds before being squashed, swerved around and charged towards the edge of the canyon.

"No!" Ares bellowed and lumbered after towards the edge.

Hadar drove his speeder as fast as it could go as it flew off the edge of the cliff towards the other side. Halfway towards the other side, the Sparrow began to tilt downwards. Ares stepped over the edge and began to fall, reaching out to grab Hadar out of the air. Hadar jumped off his Sparrow as Ares grabbed it, holding the Key. His Ghost popped out of his backpack and hovered over to the other crushed the Sparrow in his hand as he fell into the abyss.

Hadar smiled inside his helmet, he was going to make it; but he didn't. He reached out for the side of the cliff and his finger tips slid against the smooth edge and he plummeted into the darkness.

"Hadar!" His Ghost cried and flew after him.

Hadar swirled and tumbled through the air as his Ghost caught up to him.

"Ghost, the Key!" Hadar yelled as the wind going past him got louder.

As blue beam shot out of the Ghost's one eye and tethered the orb of light.

"What about you?" His Ghost called back, not able to keep up with Hadar's increasing speed and the thickening darkness making it harder and harder to see.

"Forget me!" Hadar ordered. "Tell Alecia she can have the rose!"

The Ghost fell farther and farther behind until it couldn't see Hadar anymore. It flew back to the surface as the cave began to crumble. He hovered out the large doors as they began to close.

Alecia, Llya, Hemix and Arnix stood in the Hall of Vanguards with Zavala, Ikora and Cayde when a message icon popped onto the holographic projector.

"This is Hadar's Ghost. I'm on Venus and on my way back to the Skiff. Guardian down."

Hemix and Arnix hung their heads while Llya wrapped her arm around Alecia. Alecia took off her helmet and wiped away a tear from her eye.

"We have lost to many today." Zavala said after a period of silence. "On Venus and on Earth, Guardians and CDF soldiers lost their lives to defend us. I only wish we could thank them."


	6. Chapter 6

Days later, all was calm in the city. The armageddon that nearly tore the world in half was forgotten as the annual Sparrow Racing competition approached on the horizon. The rusting Cosmodrome was quiet again, whatever schemes the Fallen were planning hidden or non threatening.

The quietness was disrupted as the roar of a Sparrow broke the silence. Aleciadrove into a clearing in between rusting buildings. A broken stone fountain stood in the middle of the road overlain with grass as she pulled up besides it. She hopped off and Hadar's Ghost hovered out of her pack around her waist.

"We're here."

Hadar's Ghost lead her up a flight of metal stars in between houses and stopped at the landing. Alecia opened the doors and it creaked as it slid to one side of the hallway that greeted them. She stepped inside to smell the nice, fresh air of outdoors that floated in from an open window.

"Hadar told me to give this to you." Hadar's Ghost said as he hovered over to a small, red flower in a clay pot.

Alecia came over and picked it up.

"It was the first flower we've ever seen in the whole entire Cosmodrome, and we were patrolling it for a long time." The Ghost continued. "It's probably one of the first flowers to appear in a long time."

Alecia took of her helmet and smelled the rose. She put her helmet back on and, holding the pot, looked around the apartment one more time. A counter stood by the window looking out over an airfield, a cot lay neatly tucked into a corner, a shattered mirror hung on the wall. It all was beautiful in a broken yet perfect way.

"Hadar wanted me to thank you for him if he didn't return." The Ghost said. "Thanks for getting him out of the Cosmodrome. For dragging him along on a real adventure."

"I just wish he could thank me in person." She said as she and his Ghost headed for the door.

As she closed it and began walking to her Sparrow, the closet door next to the mirror swung open and a Fallen Drew and Vandal creeped out.

"So this is the lair of Hadar the Scourge!" The Dreg cackled.

"And the Guardian said he was dead." The Vandal chimed in. "And you know what that means!"

"Go report the news to General Aksis and get promoted!" The Dreg celebrated.

"No, idiot." The Vandal criticized. "We loot this place clean then get promoted."

The two began to tear open cabinet drawers and strip empty the room of everything Hadar had owned, all while Alecia drove away, unknowing of what atrocities was going on behind her.

Hadar feel through dark, empty space as the light of Key faded above him. Somewhere below, a mighty crash of metal against stone lit up the air below him, the body of Ares the Gate King being torn apart sending metal up past him. He fell a bit farther until he hit something so hard he shattered every bone, every muscle snapped. And in a blink of an eye he was floating in space, alone, unable to move. He couldn't breath, he couldn't move, all he could do was stare into darkness. He could feel his body flip over and over, his arms outstretched and legs lifted up as if he had hit a round metal object and had immediately froze. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of something floating in the distance.

"Hello, anyone?" He called out into the darkness.

"Hey." Someone called back.

No, it can't be he thought. "Thexus?" He yelled.

"Do I know you?" Thexus called back.

Hadar had turned over so he caught a full view of Thexus' also statue like body. His armor was frozen a cowering stance and one arm was stretched upwards, like he was trying to shield someone from an incoming object.

"It's me, Hadar!" Hadar said.

"I'm afraid I don't remember you." Thexus replied.

"Remember? You forgot invading a Vex fortress and saving Alecia's life?" Hadar asked. "How are you alive, by the way?"

"I'm… we're not, if you can see me."

"You're dead, but if you are then how can I…"

"I'll let that sink in for a sec." Thexus said.

After a few minutes, Hadar finally spoke.

"Oh."

"Yeah, you died somehow." Thexus explained. "You aren't the first Guardian to float by."

"Really?" Hadar asked. "How?"

"C'mon, you think we're the only Guardians who have died?" Thexus said. "Say, how did you die?"

"I… I," Hadar stuttered. "I don't know."

"Ah, thought so." Thexus chuckled. "Once you die, in this place you begin to lose your memory. You only get to keep basic memories like your name and who you are."

"So where are we?" Hadar asked.

"I call it Life." Thexus stated.

"Kinda ironic since we're dead." Hadar said.

"No, think about it. We were dead men and women brought from the dead by the Traveler back in the Universe, but now that we've been killed again, the Life the Traveler gave us when we came back from the dead comes with us to here."

"That makes some sense if you were a Warlock." Hadar said. "I'm not a Warlock."

"Here's a simpler version." Thexus spoke. "If the Traveler gave us life somehow, then shouldn't that life stick with us if we died again?"

"Still makes no sense." Hadar confirmed.

"We aren't actually real people." Thexus said. "Our mortal bodies are somewhere lying on the ground, but the The Life inside of us comes here."

"That makes a bit more sense." Hadar realized.

"Yeah, you learn some stuff while you're her-"

Suddenly, Thexus' body became covered in black and white light and disappeared.

"Thexus? Thexus?" Hadar called out. "Hey! Where are you? Hello?"

In the chamber where Thexus' body lay, surrounded by the Fallen bodies of Vex soldiers, a deep voice rang throughout the cavern.

"What a find." It said. "A rare and special capture."

A creature stepped out of the darkness. It was about twenty feet high, but not as tall as the Gate King. It's armor was hard and rough, like a shell, not like the Gate King's smooth, grey and metal chassis. It's head was round and oval ish with a single horn protruding out it's head. It was more humanoid than a machine, dark and ancient. A wicked, jagged blade hung at its side.

"The Vex; so strategic, yet so flawed." It said as it strolled over to Thexus' fallen body, crushing the dead Vex beneath its feet.

"Prince Elkrion," Another, lighter voice came out of the darkness. "Is it possible to take a dead Guardian?"

"Silence, Telkoth." Elkrion ordered. "I shall take what is mine."

Elkrion loomed over Thexus' corpse and began to whisper;

"You are Thexus, warrior of the Great Machine, once leader of the group of Guardians that destroyed Ares. Two of the most powerful fists of the Vanguard are yours. You have been taken."

Elkrion circled the dead body as black mist began to pour from his outstretched hands.

"Once a master of combat, sent on a mission to destroy a mind you could not comprehend, deep into a planet of darkness and misery. You are lost in death and life, a machine without purpose, a knight without a quest, your past life shattered you.

Observe this opportunity, become what you were and what you will be. You've seen death and life folding in on itself. Take your experience and your future and merge them together to make your path.

There is a knife. It is shaped like destiny. Pick it up."

Elkrion smiled.

"Take your new shape."

The black mist now poured out of his hands and wrapped itself around Thexus. As the mist touched his armor, the pieces began to blacken and repair itself. The helmet reinflated to its original shape, the blue blood stains on the floor began to seep back through the cracks in the armor.

Telkoth, a Taken Fallen Captain stepped into the light.

"So many are competing for the title of Taken King. What will change if we take one Guardian? The blights dwindle with all these Taken massing against one another. We must unite them. Having a Guardian who slew their kind will deepen the gap."

"The other title runners will soon fall into line," Elkrion said as he knelt down over Thexus. "Once they know I have him."

"Who, a dead Guardian?" Telkoth laughed.

"No," Elkrion snickered. "An Iron Lord."

The mist had turned Thexus' armor pitch black. With two of his large fingers, Elkrion pulled the helmet of of Thexus' hand.

"Rise, Thexus, General of Elkrion, let your past not hide any longer!" Elkrion roared and he touched Thexus' forehead.

Suddenly, red lights instead of the normal blue color began to shine out from beneath the cracks in Thexus' metal skin. Thexus rolled over, got to one knee and held out his hand. A pitch black battle axe formed in his hands, red fire dancing along the long shaft.

"When I meet the other constants for the title of King of Taken, Thexus will do all the fighting I need." Elkrion gloated. "Come, there are two more entities in this base which I will require before I claim my crown."


End file.
